Former England captain Nasser Hussain has severely criticized the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for demonstrating a "disrespect and disregard" toward Test cricket, targeting the decision to fly opener Saim Ayub straight from franchise T20 cricket into the playing XI for the third Test against England at Edgbaston.

Ayub’s emergency inclusion in the Test side ended in disappointment as the left-handed opener was dismissed for a pair—scoring zero in both innings—by English pacer Ollie Robinson.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Hussain argued that the accountability lies primarily with Pakistan's selection committee rather than the player. He pointed out the impracticality of drafting a cricketer who had not played a first-class match in nearly a year directly from the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) to face a Dukes ball in unfamiliar English conditions.

"The truth is he shouldn't be here. He came straight from the CPL and hasn't played first-class cricket in months," Hussain remarked. "I don't know who thought it was a good idea to fly someone over from foreign T20 conditions, playing a completely different format, and expect them to succeed against a moving Dukes ball."

Hussain drew parallels to a similar past incident involving former Indian opener Virender Sehwag, who was once flown into England without adequate format-specific practice and struggled at the same ground.

"Test match cricket is the toughest format, and opening the batting in England is the hardest task in the game. You cannot simply fly someone in from around the world and wish them good luck," Hussain added, calling the selection tactic an unfair burden on young talent.

The critique comes amid a challenging third Test for Pakistan. After being bowled out for 133 in their first innings, Pakistan conceded a massive 320-run deficit as England scored 453. Ending Day 2 at 52 for 2 in their second innings, Pakistan faces an uphill battle to avoid a series sweep.